Happy Thanksgiving, Americans! And Happy Thursday to everyone else. It’s the time of year where we start reflecting on the year gone by, going over in our heads what we’re thankful for. Soon we’ll be thinking about our hopes for the year to come, getting our ducks in a row, our eyes will sparkle with possibility. I love this time of year. Despite the sometimes-hectic nature of the holidays—shopping, fitting in plans, traffic—this block of time also comes with a sort of permission slip to relax.

On a recent trip to the UK to visit a friend, we decided to get the hell out of England and take a three-day getaway in Wales. Think gray, drizzly days, ocean waves crashing against an empty, rocky beach. Think hot meals in stone pubs, with warm lighting awash. Think wellies and wool socks and winding, narrow roads, framed by stout stone walls. Think green—the mountains rolling through the landscape, the trees in wooded areas, and the long stretches of pasture. Think lots and lots of sheep. Think throw blankets and bubble baths and early nights in watching Netflix while the wind howls outside. Sound amazing? It was. Read on to hear about our quick trip to Wales so you can plan your own cozy, seaside getaway.

Dying to visit Banff National Park? Read on for my 3-day itinerary to have the BEST quick trip to Banff! The mountains, the larches, the turquoise-blue lakes! Banff has been on my wish list for years (and the insta influencers didn’t make it any easier.) Finally, last month, I took a trip to Banff National Park and got to see what all the hype was about. I only had a few days to spend, as this trip was sandwiched between the World Airline Road Race in Calgary and yet another trip to the UK, but my friends and I totally made the most of it.

For this week’s post, I’ll go back to the start of my two-week travel bender, to the 40th Annual World Airline Road Race in Calgary. It’s a city I’d never considered visiting before, but I’m glad I got to see it. Calgary had lots to offer, and the race was a ton of fun this year. If you don’t know what WARR is, don’t worry, I’ll explain it right in the beginning so you can follow along. If you’re airline personnel and haven’t participated in WARR before, read on, I suspect you’ll want to by the end.

My friends somehow convinced me to do a Spartan Race. For those of you who don’t know, this means a race with running, but also with obstacles that could have a place on TV shows like American Ninja Warrior, or in CrossFit gyms. These obstacles are a test of agility and strength—two things I lack, as was made apparent during last week’s race. Still, I survived my first Spartan Race and lived to tell about it.